


Dead Man Walking

by Elorablemonster



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, F/M, M/M, Past Character Death, Slow Burn, Terminal Illnesses
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-29
Updated: 2020-02-16
Packaged: 2021-02-24 22:01:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22465288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elorablemonster/pseuds/Elorablemonster
Summary: When Keith (Force-ably) joins a terminal illness group, he doesn't know what to expect. He definitely doesn't expect to meet a group of people who would change his life forever.
Relationships: Allura/Romelle (Voltron), Hunk/Shay (Voltron), Keith/Lance (Voltron), Matt Holt/Shiro
Comments: 13
Kudos: 35





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will be updating at least one a week

Chapter 1- At Death’s Door

Keith nearly ran when the automatic doors open. His body tensed, and he felt his heartbeat quicken. Honestly, the only thing keeping him from whipping around and racing off into the sunset was Shiro’s metal fingers lightly digging into his shoulder. So instead of darting away, Keith tried to remember how to breathe.  
Sure Takashi. Let’s all go to death camp. What a great time. He thought aggressively at his older brother. Shiro of course paid no mind to his brother’s huffing. As much as he had the dad brain going on, he still couldn’t read minds. If he could, he might be alarmed by the amount of screaming going on inside Keith’s head. Then again, when was Shiro alarmed by anything.  
He still remembered his brother’s face at the doctor’s office. How only the slight tremble in his non prosthetic arm gave away his anxiety. Cancer. Stage Three. Keith hadn’t really been paying attention after that. He had just stared down at his body wondering why it was betraying him now. He was only nineteen. He didn’t remember punching the doctor. Or Shiro pulling him off the poor guy. He didn’t remember screaming and throwing things around the small space. He just remembered Shiro’s soft voice telling him they would fight it.  
His thoughts were interrupted by a slight cough. Jerking his head up, he saw Shiro’s eyes soften. He followed their gaze to the thin young man before them. Matt probably was smiling. He was just like that. Always cheerful, always smiling. It was hard to tell because of the mask covering the lower half of his face though. Shiro didn’t let go of his shoulder, just kind of dragged him along to talk to his best friend.  
Keith let his eyes trail over Matt. He was hunching a little. Probably a bad day then. Once again, Keith wondered what any of them did to deserve this. Matt was a good guy. A literal genius too. When Shiro had lost his arm, Matt was the one to build his high tech prosthetic. And yet, he was dying. They all were.  
It was Matt’s idea really. He had talked to Shiro about the terminal youths group long before Keith was ever diagnosed. It was one of the things that helped him cope he claimed. But Keith had been around Matt since they were both children. He was pretty sure that guy was born coping. However, that didn’t stop Matt and Shiro from conspiring to get Keith into the group.  
And so here he was. With his older brother babysitting him so he actually followed through. Shiro could claim he wanted to see Matt all he liked. Keith knew his older brother was worried he was going to assault someone again. Who was Keith to argue. Even now he felt rage bubbling beneath his skin. He still wanted to punch someone.  
Keith sure didn’t believe in fate or God. Not after what he had been through. But hell if the universe didn’t seem to hear his plea. Because sitting in the circle, laughing obnoxiously loud, was the hottest guy Keith had ever seen. He just stared at the guy, admiring his honey skin, and his ocean blue eyes. Sensing someone, those eyes snapped up from the blonde next to him and landing on Keith. “Like what you see Mullet?” He called out, his voice tinged with mockery. Keith felt his ears go hot with the taunt. Fuck fate, he was going to punch Adonis.


	2. Chapter 2- Another Nail In The Coffin

Lucky for the tall asshole sitting across from him, Keith didn’t get the chance to punch his lights out. Shiro’s dad sense had apparently started tingling before Keith had even taken his first step, fist tense and ready. His brother had gracefully slid between Keith and his target, shifting them both towards seats. It looked like Shiro was staying, which was kind of weird. It wasn’t like he was dying. Oh wait, yeah, he really was. Keith glanced over, eyes narrowing. “Are you Babysitting me??” He whispered indignantly. Shiro brushed his shock of white hair further out of his eyes, before staring down at his little brother. “Maybe if you weren’t such a hothead…” He trailed off smugly. Keith couldn’t exactly deny it. Before he could tell his giant dick of a brother to buzz off, a lean man with shocking orange hair and a mustache cartwheeled into the circle.  
“Welcome everyone!” He said chipperly, like this wasn’t a therapy session for dying kids. The group half heartedly responded “Good Morning.” The blue eyed boy was once again the loudest, and Keith glared at him briefly before the wiry man continued. “My name is Doctor Coran Hieronymus Wimbleton Smythe!” Keith felt his jaw drop open a bit, and the guy smiled cheerfully at him. “Don’t worry, you can call me Coran.” His mustache seemed to twitch with glee, and Keith found himself very distracted by it.  
Shiro’s metal elbow dug into his ribs, and Keith snapped back to attention, hoping no one else had noticed his interest in the doctor’s mustache. Coran must have been explaining the story behind Altea Support group. Something about an “Alfor” whatever that meant. Keith very nearly zoned out when Coran clapped his hands together. Where the hell did this guy get so much energy?  
“Alright everybody, let’s go around the circle and introduce ourselves!” He said, his mustache still twitching. “Obviously I am Coran, I am a grief counselor and my favorite color is orange!” Keith tried not to flinch away from the excited man’s loud voice. “Alright who’s next!” A young woman in a wheelchair to Coran’s left raised a shaking hand, and Keith tried not to sigh out loud. That gave him until the end of the circle to try and be social for once.  
“Hello, My name is Florona, I have Muscular Dystrophy, and my favorite color is pink.” Her voice was soft and oddly soothing after the sheer volume of Coran. Keith couldn’t help but notice how thin she was. She smiled gently and gestured to her left. The grungy guy didn’t smile, just jerked his head in a weird nod. “What’s up Everyone, I’m Rolo.” He stopped and gasped for air, and Keith tried not to wince. “I have Pulmonary fibrosis, my favorite color is purple.” His speaking seemed to take all his energy and he sagged back in his chair, beanie hiding his expression.  
The next person lightly touched Rolo’s arm, before flipping her blonde dreadlocks out of her way. “Hey everyone, I’m Nyma. I’ve got ALS, and my favorite color is turquoise.” Her hand was still lightly tracing Rolo’s forearm, and Keith briefly wondered if they were a thing. And then it was Adonis’ turn. Keith tried not to look eager as he paid closer attention.  
“What’s good ladies and gents! The name’s Lance!” He made finger guns at that, pointing at Keith who felt his ears warm up again. “I’ve got cancer and my favorite color is blue.” Lance stopped looking at Keith long enough to wink at Shiro. “Lucky for you, I’m all Bi myself!” Keith gawked openly at the boy, before looking up at Shiro, who was now a fun color of pink, the scar across his nose lighting up like Rudolph’s nose.  
“Lance! Cool it.” Matt managed to save Shiro from combustion. His voice wheezed slightly behind his mask. Lance just bowed dramatically, sending another wink at Shiro before gesturing to Matt to continue. Matt shook his head. “I’m Matt, Got Cystic Fibrosis, and my favorite color is white.” His neck flushed a little at that, but he didn’t say anything else, just gesturing weakly to his left.  
Shiro smiled gently at Matt, his face slowly returning to a normal Shiro shade. “Hello everybody, My name is Takashi Shirogane, But everyone calls me Shiro. I am here to support my baby brother, and my favorite color is green.” Matt glanced down at his nearly full green outfit and stared at Shiro. Keith noticed the flush on both Shiro and Matt, and tried not to snicker at the obvious duo, ignoring the baby brother comment for now.  
Everyone’s eyes turned towards him, and he fought the urge to run away from the curious stares. “Uh.. Hey.” Great job Keith. You’re a pro at this. “I’m Keith. Cancer. I like red.” He blurted the last few parts out, and tried really hard not to vomit on his combat boots. Yup, totally pro at the talking thing. Thankfully, no one laughed at his awkward stumble through conversations. He raised his head and noticed Lance staring at him with an unreadable expression on his face. Then the moment was over and Lance turned his attention back to Coran.  
To Keith’s relief and probably Shiro’s chagrin, the rest of the session was just Coran explaining what to expect the next few meetings. It seemed like Keith was the only newcomer. Everyone else seemed like they at least sort of knew each other. That didn’t really help his anxiety, but it’s not like he was here to make friends. That was the opposite of what he wanted.  
After Coran dismissed them, Shiro led Keith straight to Matt. They spoke quietly between themselves while Keith gazed over the room. He noticed a plaque hanging on the wall and found himself wandering closer. His breath caught in his chest as he read down the line of names. So many people, there had to be at least fifty names on it. His eyes skipped down them, not recognizing any before landing at the top. “In Loving Memory.” How long before it was his name up there.


	3. Chapter 3- Kicking the Bucket

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith is a useless gay

Keith decided his nurse was a sadist. There was no other explanation for why the hell this guy needed to stab him SIX times with a needle to set up his IV port. He grimaced at his very bruised arm, and then looked back down at his phone. Shiro was texting him memes, probably to distract him. Even from across down, Shiro’s dad senses must have been tingling. Keith tried not to pout. It’s not like he was Actually going to stab his nurse. Shiro made him leave his knife at home.  
The nurse in questioned eyed him nervously from across the room. The steady beeping was the only thing that broke the silence, and Keith found against the urge to look around him. He already knew what he would see. To his left was the old woman.. Mrs. Collins? He wanted to call her. She had breast cancer. To his right was some young kid, new. Keith hadn’t heard his parents say what cancer he had. It was always the kids that hurt the most though.  
Tiredly, he glanced up at his Chemo drip. Half way done… Another hour to kill easily. Unlike most people, he never could nap during the treatment. He didn’t really need to anyways. He could run on less sleep than most people. Shiro told him it was because he was half alien. He glanced back down at his phone. A cat picture stared back. Shiro really needed to catch up in the meme world. Even Keith knew “can I haz” was an old ass meme, and he was about as far out of the loop as one could be.  
Smirking to himself, he ignored Shiro’s message. Instead, he opened a new text. To OG Holt- *Your boyfriend is behind on the memes. It’s your duty as a good lover to keep him up to date.* He hit send and waited. Even though Matt was at some robotics competition, the response took less than a minute. To Emo-tionally unavailable- *SKfjsljfkasjdflkajs NOT MY BOYFRIEND.* Keith rolled his eyes. Yeah, REALLY convincing Matt.  
He fished his tangled headphones out of his hoodie pocket and leaned back in the chair. Might as well listen to some music while waiting. Then he glanced at his battery. Orr not. Great. 8%. Shiro was always on his ass about charging his phone, and right now Keith was kind of on his side. Thanks Past Keith. With no other options, he settled down to people watch.  
He hadn’t played “Make it Up” since before the accident. It brought up too many memories of mom. But old habits tend to die hard, and he found himself making up stories to fit the people he saw. The nurse had a bdsm basement where he poked people with needles. Mrs. Collins had three grandchildren, but was actually a russian spy sent to steal technology. The kid? Nope not going there. Keith thought to himself.  
A loud laugh caught his attention. No freaking way. The universe does NOT hate him that much. Sure enough, walking around the corner was Lance. From Dying Kids Fun Time. Keith fought the urge to smack his face. Lance checked in, albeit slower than most. Too busy flirting with the poor receptionist. Keith decided to just ignore the bastard.  
And then it got worse. Mrs. Collin’s Chemo drip beeped three times. He whipped his head around hard enough to hurt his neck. Empty. A nurse came over and started to remove her IV Slower. Please God, just go slower! A quick glance over showed Lance was still not done checking in. The nurse, not the sadistic freak, but a nice young lady, finished with Mrs. Collins and began preparing the chair for the next patient.  
Keith rolled his eyes to the heavens and kept praying. Please, let ANYONE else sit there. I’m begging you. A small crash made Keith startle out of his prayers. Lance had managed to knock over a lone mop bucket , thus ending his flirting game. Somewhat ashamed, he slunk over to the chair and sat down next to Keith. Keith rolled his eyes up towards the ceiling again. Really? Just fuck me I guess. Thanks God.  
“HEY! I KNOW YOU!” the voice to his left proclaimed loudly. Keith opened his eyes slowly and looked over. Lance smiled broadly, perfect white teeth flashing against his tanned skin. “From Altea right?” He continued. Keith’s eyes flashed to his own IV drip. A few more minutes. He could totally talk to a cute guy for a few minutes, Right? Wrong.   
Keith opened his mouth, and to his surprise, “Who are you?” came out instead of a normal response. Lance recoiled slightly, his mouth parting. “Wha? Who am I?” He echoed. “Uh, The name’s Lance?” He said, with a slight ego. He was clearly put out that Keith didn’t remember him. However, instead of owning up to it, like a sane person, Keith’s asshole brain doubled down. He shrugged nonchalantly, as if he had never heard the name before in his life. Lance’s mouth dropped open.  
Before either of them could say anything else, or rather for Keith, dig themselves in any deeper. A loud beeping went off. Keith sighed in relief. Saved at last. Within a few moments he was free, and heading out. Maybe he could get away with this, he lied to himself. As if he wasn’t the only half asian with an apparent mullet in this damn town. And then things went from bad to worse. Shiro walked around the corner.  
“Keith!” He called loudly, waving his prosthetic arm. Ah yes, the OTHER half asian in town, and the only person with a prosthetic arm. Keith was so fucked. He didn’t turn back to see Lance’s face. Instead he grabbed his brother by the wrist and tugged firmly. “Let’s go.” He muttered quietly. Shiro was about to follow when he halted. “Wait, isn’t that..” Keith cut his half brother off. “Let's go Shiro!” He whispered a little louder, panic in his voice. Shiro, now very used to his brother’s oddities, shrugged and followed again.


	4. Chapter 4-  A Fate Worse than Death

Keith was really hoping Shiro was going to be more sympathetic to his plight. Thinking back on that now, he understood just how stupid that was. Shiro had cried with laughter when Keith confessed in the car. “You pretended not to know him??” He howled, tears streaming down his face. Unsurprisingly, his trademark winged eyeliner remained perfect through the ordeal. Keith sputtered at his brother’s glee. “IT SEEMED LIKE A GOOD IDEA AT THE TIME!” That had only made his brother laugh harder, choking on his words. “You useless gay!” He managed to gasp out.

After far too long, Shiro managed to compose himself enough to drive them out of the hospital parking lot. Keith pouted quietly to himself. Shiro had a lot of nerve calling him the useless gay when he was still dancing around Matt. A horrible realization hit him, and he whipped his head around to stare at his brother. “Please tell me you’re not going to make me go back.” He said pleadingly. Shiro smirked, eyes never leaving the road. “Fat chance. You’re going back. This is good for you.” Keith glared at the side of Shiro’s head. “You mean good for your entertainment” He countered accusingly. Shiro chuckled again. “Yeah, that too.”

And so, Keith found himself staring at the automatic doors to his own personal hell again. He shot Shiro a glance, ready to beg some more. Shiro wasn’t paying attention though, eyes already searching for his best friend. They had arrived earlier than most, Keith noted. No sign of an obnoxious latino in sight. He caught sight of a familiar mop of auburn hair. 

“Hey Matt!” He said, grabbing his friend’s shoulder. The person turned and looked at him, one eyebrow raised. “Not Matt.” He said. Pidge burst out laughing. “Dude. I’m like a foot shorter than my brother!” Keith crossed his arms, glaring at the mini Holt. “It’s not my fault that you decide Matt was the beacon of fashion and ripped off his look!” He said defensively. Pidge just scoffed. Their eyes locked onto something behind him. He turned and saw their brother’s talking together, heads close. Keith shook his head. “Think they will ever figure it out?” Pidge scoffed. “In our dreams.”

Coran once again came into the room in the oddest fashion. Today was a tumble that would’ve given a middle school gymnast a run for their money. Keith glanced over at Pidge, they shrugged. “You kinda get used to it?” They glanced back at the strange man. “Sort of?” Coran clapped his hands together. “Alrighty O! Let’s all find our seats!” Keith sat down, and realized again Lance was nowhere to be found. He tried to tell himself he wasn’t slightly disappointed. Remembering the awkward chemo appointment, the disappointment vanished.

The meeting was going pretty well, for a therapy group on dying youths. Keith was sitting next to Pidge, which made anything fair more entertaining. Their impression of Coran’s eyebrows was spot on, and Keith found himself relaxing. Then Coran decided to ruin Keith’s day all together. With an energetic hop, he sprang from his seat. “How about we do something fun!” His mustache seemed to wiggle with glee. Keith bit back a groan, his idea of fun was probably far different from the mustached man before him.

Coran eyed the group for a moment. Then his eyes lit up. Keith tried not and failed not to notice the mustache twitch. How the fuck did he do that?? “Let’s pair..” Before he could finish, a very soggy Lance burst in. “SORRY CORAN!” He shrieked. “My mom was late, and I had to pick up the twins..” Coran held up a hand, halting the flood of information coming out of Lance’s mouth at a rapid pace. “It’s okay my boy!” He smiled, gesturing for Lance to take a seat. 

Once Lance had settled down, Coran began again. “I was just explaining to the group, we are going to have some fun!” He clapped delighted with himself. “Let’s pair up and play a game called Winner/Loser!” He gestured towards the group. “Please find your partner and then I will explain the rules.” Keith shot a hopeful look at Pidge, but they had already rocketed out of their chair, heading straight for a large guy Keith hadn’t noticed before.

It only took a few seconds for Keith to realize they were gone, and he turned to Shiro. No surprise he was paired with Matt. Keith caught his brother’s eye and mouthed “Traitor!” Shiro winked at him before pointing. A sinking feeling in his stomach, Keith looked around. Everyone seemed to be paired up. The perky blonde, what was her name again? Nyma! She was with the guy Rolo. Florona hadn’t come in today. Which left him with… 

Lance sat down next to him, with a barely disguised glare. “Looks like we are partners.” He said snappily. Keith briefly considered playing dumb again, but something in Lance’s face told him that if he pretended not to know him again, all hell would break loose. He settled for a stiff nod. This was going to be worse than the chemo. He tightened his arms around his middle, and chose to stare at the floor.

Coran, not noticing the tension between the two boys, clapped again. “WONDERFUL! Now that you are all paired I will explain. One of you will share a bad experience. It doesn’t matter what it was.” He looked over the group. “Once you have shared your experience, you will try to look for a positive in it. Your partner’s job is to help you! Then you switch.” Keith closed his eyes, hoping Coran wouldn’t clap again. Thankfully he didn’t. He instead gestured wildly at the pairings. “You may begin at anytime.”


	5. Chapter 5- A Death Blow

Keith could feel Lance glaring at him, so he continued to stare at his feet in fascination. Finally Lance huffed at his silence. “Fine, I guess I’ll go first.” He said snidely. Keith nodded, not trusting himself not to say something dumb. “Diagnosed with Osteosarcoma at age 17.” Lance said calmly, clearly used to stating it often. He paused, as if thinking hard. “I got to join Altea and meet some amazing people.” His voice was warmer than it had been all day, and Keith peaked up at him. Lance’s blue eyes were soft, and a faint smile formed. Keith noticed faint freckles dotting his tanned skin before the glare was back.

The silence stretched for a minute, and Keith panicked. He was supposed to say something. Say anything! “You get to play the cancer card?” He said weakly. Lance snorted, clearly not impressed. Keith thought for a moment and then blurted out “You get to flirt with the chemotherapy nurses?” Lance didn’t respond to that, just raised an eyebrow stiffly. Keith tried really hard not to stare at his eyes. They were almost Cerulean? Or maybe Cobalt? He wasn’t good with colors.

“Your turn.” Lance said flatly. Keith blinked rapidly. He could use his own cancer, but he had a feeling he should be more original. “Orphaned by the time I was 13.” He said flatly. Lance sucked in a breath, but his face remained neutral. Keith studied his feet again. “I learned that everyone leaves sometime.” He finished. Lance didn’t add anything, probably because he couldn’t think of any bright side to being orphaned. There weren’t exactly a lot. His mouth twitched. “No bedtime?” Keith made a weird noise, and internally kicked himself for sounding like a goat. “Clearly, you haven’t met Shiro. He’s always been such a dad.”

Lance narrowed his eyes. “Cheated on by my girlfriend who I met at Atlea.” He challenged, and with a smirk continued. “Oh yeah, With another dying kid.” Keith couldn’t help his eyes slide to Nyma, and wondered just what Lance had seen in her. “At least I didn’t fall in love with a bitch.” Lance stated. Keith glanced over, wondering if he was imagining the competitive light in Lance’s eyes. Slightly bolder, he added. “Missed out on an Std.” That got a snort out of Lance. 

Keith grimaced slightly before finally saying it. “Your brother coming back from war in a coma, missing an arm and most of his memories.” Lance didn’t miss a beat, thankfully. “Your brother came home. He’s here now.” Keith tried to smile, to ignore the pit in his stomach that happened every time he thought about how close he was to losing Shiro. But Lance was right. Adam’s family hadn’t been as lucky. He hadn’t been very close to his brother’s fiance, but he had still felt the loss for ages after. Shiro had taken years to recover from that. Keith snuck a glance at his brother, still laughing with Matt. At least they had each other.

After that they went back and forth for a while. Each trying to one up the other with something tragic, and the other making a joke out of it. Coran was right, Keith realized. It was oddly therapeutic. Although he was pretty sure this is not what the guy had in mind when he had planned the event. Lance was starting to lighten up a little, not quite smiling at Keith, but smirking at some of the stuff he said.

Something caught Lance’s eye, and immediately he was closed off again. Curious, Keith glanced over. It was Shiro and Matt, heads close together again as they laughed about something. His eyebrow twitched up. He didn’t see anything that would make Lance act so weird. He sent a questioning look towards Lance, but the other boy was staring at the ceiling seriously, completely avoiding his eyes.

Lance finally spoke, still looking up. “Being paired up with a homophobic asshole.” Keith waited, wondering what the bright side to that was. Lance just continued staring upwards, barely breathing. And then it sunk it, what Lance had said. Keith gawked at the lanky guy. “Wait, do you mean me?” He managed to sputter out. Lance finally looked at him. “Who else do you see me paired with Mullet.” He spat out. 

Keith felt as if his soul had left his body. He just stared at Lance, his brain not working. It was like there was an error screen bouncing around. He couldn’t speak, he couldn’t think. Lance was starting to look uncomfortable, as if he hadn’t planned on accusing Keith. As if it had just come out, and now he was really regretting it. Finally Keith’s brain caught up. “I’M GAY, YOU ABSOLUTE WALNUT!” 


End file.
